


Coming Out

by localspacelesbian



Category: Diary of a Future President (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Family, First Kiss, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:15:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25601176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/localspacelesbian/pseuds/localspacelesbian
Summary: Bobby comes out to his family.
Relationships: Bobby Cañero-Reed & Gabriela "Gabi" Cañero-Reed, Bobby Cañero-Reed & Gabrielle "Gabi" Cañero-Reed, Bobby Cañero-Reed & Sam Faber, Bobby Cañero-Reed/Liam Carter
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64





	Coming Out

Bobby found himself once again standing in front of his bathroom mirror. Once again, he’d tried telling Liam, but he hadn’t been able to get the words out. He looked himself in the eye. “Liam… I…” He sighed and looked down. He couldn't even say it to himself. He’d been trying for weeks. He knew it was a whole process, but why did it have to be so  _ much _ ? It’s not like he didn’t accept it. He’d said it in his head several times. And he was pretty sure Camila had figured it out. And Monyca, too. But actually getting the words out.  _ Liam, I’m gay. I like guys. I like you. _ He took a deep breath and faced the mirror again. He could do this. There wasn’t anyone else here. He just had to get the word out. Say it out loud. Because maybe it he could say it to himself first, saying it to someone else would feel a little less… _ impossible _ .

“I’m… gay.” He felt himself exhale and watched as a small smile appeared on his face.

But his smile fell when he saw another face in the mirror. His sister. Of course, he hadn’t bothered to make sure her door was closed because he didn’t think she was even home. But here she was. Staring at him with wide eyes. He stared back at her through the mirror. Frozen in place. His heart in his throat. He tried to swallow it down. He knew, logically, that he didn’t actually have any reason to fear her reaction. But this wasn’t supposed to be how she found out. He wasn’t sure how long they stood there like that. Just staring at each other. Time frozen around them.

Finally, he turned to face her properly. She blinked several times. He thought about just yelling at her for walking in on him in the bathroom and running away, but he knew that would only prolong the inevitable. He took a deep breath. “Elena…” But he didn’t really know what to say.

“Bobby? Are you ok?”

He nodded a bit too quickly. “Yeah, of course. I’m chill. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you kind of look like you’re about to cry.”

He glanced in the mirror and saw that she was right. “Oh.”

She took a step closer to him, slowly, holding out her hand, like he was a scared animal or something. “Bobby, it’s ok.”

He nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Of all of the people he’d thought he’d come out to first, talk to about this first, Elena wasn’t at the top of his list. Camila, Danielle, Liam, his mom, Sam maybe. But not Elena. Sure, he loved his sister (even if he’d never admit it), but they never talked about stuff like this.

He wasn’t sure which one of them was more surprised when he nodded, sighed, and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. After a second where she didn’t quite seem to know what to do, Elena hopped up on the counter to face him.

“So…” she started.

“So…” he repeated. He had no idea where to start.

“You’re…”

“Gay,” he finished. It was the second ever time he’d said the word out loud, at least in reference to himself, and it was a little easier this time, but it still stuck in his throat a bit.

She nodded. “Sorry, I don’t really know what to say, but you know I still love you, right?”

He looked up at her with a small smile. It was rare for either of them to admit that they loved the other, and even more rare for Elena to admit to not knowing what to say. He nodded once. “Yeah, I know. And you don’t have to say anything. This is all new to me, and I’m still figuring it out. Danielle said it’s like a whole process.”

Elena raised her eyebrows. “You told Danielle?”

Bobby shook his head. “Well, no. She was talking about Camila. But I think they both know. I think Camila keeps trying to get me to tell her.”

“Oh. Have you told anyone else?”

Bobby shook his head again. “Just you.”

She looked down. “I’m sorry. I’m sure that’s not how you wanted to tell me.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s chill.” It wasn’t really. But it wasn’t as unchill as he’d expected her finding out to be. And to be honest, a part of him was a little relieved that someone else knew. Even if it was his little sister.

She nodded. “Um… how long have you known?”

He shrugged. “About a month I guess. Since I broke up with Monyca. Or probably before that, but I didn’t want to admit it.”

“Oh.” She smiled slightly. “Hey, does this mean we can talk about boys together?”

He rolled his eyes and stood up. “Definitely not.” He’d heard enough about Joey Feldstien to last a lifetime, thank you very much.

She followed him out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. “Oh, come on. Why not?”

“I’m not going to talk about boys with my kid sister. That’s weird.” He looked back to see her pouting at him. He sighed. “Elena…”

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” She held out her pinky finger.

He rolled his eyes, but after a second, he lifted up his own pinky to wrap around hers, and she smiled. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but this isn’t going to be like a Thing. And you can’t tell anyone else.”

She nodded quickly.

He glanced around his room as he thought about how to tell her. He saw the tennis ball, the one from Jupiter, sitting on his dresser. He picked it up and tossed it to her.

She was startled and fumbled a bit but managed to catch it, a confused expression on her face as she examined it. And maybe he shouldn’t enjoy her looking confused, but it was such a rare sight, he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“I don’t get it.”

“Liam made that for me. At the Jupiter tournament. When we were stuck in a, uh… closet.”

She looked up him with those wide eyes again as she got it. “Oh.”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He walked passed her and sat on his bed, looking down at his hands. “I think that’s when I started to realize it.” She sat down next to him, looking at him, but he still didn’t look at her. “I mean, we were stuck in this storage room, a literal closet. And we missed the tournament. It was awful. I was expecting it to be the worst day ever. But…” He smiled softly at the memory. “Liam made it not so awful. He made me forget the whole thing. And it was actually kind of amazing. More fun than the tournament would have been. And then, toward the end, we were just sitting there, and…” And their knees had touched. And in that single moment, Bobby had felt more than he’d ever felt with Monyca. And then Camila had shown up, and the moment was gone. He shook his head. “I don’t know. I think that’s when it started. It didn’t really hit me though until the dance. I saw him dancing with Jada, and I just…”  _ Lost it _ .

“Fought him?” She finished.

He nodded. “Yeah, it was stupid. I know. I just…” He sighed. “I was feeling all these things, and I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t know what to do with it, so I took it out on him.”

“Have you talked to him about it?”

“I mean, I apologized to him, but I couldn’t exactly tell him why I did it. I wanted to, but I just couldn’t get the words out. I told him I was just stressed about high school.” He shook his head at the memory. “I don’t think he believed me.” But he didn’t push. He never did. And somehow, he was the only one Bobby had ever really talked to about any of his stuff.

“I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It’s chill.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he was reminded of that moment after the dance. Maybe the two of them didn’t have a perfect relationship. Maybe they didn’t talk to each other enough. But sometimes, they just got each other. And they could just sit in comforting silence together. He smiled to himself. He was kind of surprised at how well talking to her had gone, and how much it had helped. He actually felt a lot better than he had when he’d first gotten home from hanging out with Liam that day.

The moment was ruined after a second when she suddenly sat up and said, “I just remembered I have to pee.”

He shook his head and chuckled as she stood up to walk back into the bathroom. Just before getting to the door, she turned and tossed the tennis ball back to him. He caught it easily and looked at it, turning it in his hands and thinking about Liam.

* * *

He was going to do it. Bobby was going to come out to Liam.

No, he wasn’t.

Yes, he was.

_ Come on, man. Get your shit together. Chill. It’s going to be fine _ .

Liam was going to be here in half an hour, and Bobby was currently pacing in the living room, trying to build up the nerve to come out to him. His best friend. His crush.  _ Fuck. _

The front door opened, and Bobby felt a sense of déjà vu when he saw Sam walk in. He froze.

“Are you ok, Bobby?” Sam asked as he closed the door behind him.

Bobby smiled at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

“I came to grab some files I forgot this morning. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Bobby sighed and collapse on the couch.

Sam came over and sat next to him. “What’s up?”

Bobby thought for a second about how to ask him for advice without telling him everything. “Have you ever had something you wanted to tell someone, and even though you’re like 99% sure they’re going to be cool with it, you’re still scared because there’s still that 1% chance that they’ll hate you forever?”

Sam nodded slowly. “I’m not sure. But whatever it is, I’m sure if this person cares about you, nothing you have to tell them could make them hate you. And if it does, then maybe they aren’t worth your time.”

Bobby nodded. “You said before that when the time comes, the words will just kind of come out. But that… didn’t happen.”

“So, this is the same person we were talking about before?”

Bobby nodded.

“And the same thing you wanted to tell them then?”

Bobby nodded again. “I keep trying to tell them, but I just can’t get the words out. It’s like they get stuck in my throat, and I end up saying something completely different instead.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been there. I don’t know if there’s any magical advice that works for all situations. You kind of just have to make yourself do it. Tell yourself that this person cares about you, and whatever happens, even if they don’t react the exact way you’re hoping, they aren’t going to stop caring about you.”

Bobby nodded.

Sam looked at him, thinking for a second, before speaking again. “You know, Bobby, I might be able to give you more specific advice if I knew what this was about?”

Bobby nodded but didn’t say anything. The funny thing though was that he kind of wanted to. Which was weird because Sam wouldn’t know anything about this. But Bobby had always felt comfortable talking to him for some reason. Bobby surprised both of them by blurting out, “I’m gay.”

Sam just looked at him for a second before blinking a couple times. “Oh.” He nodded. “Ok.” They both looked forward, just sitting in silence for a second as they processed that. “Is that… Is that the thing you want to tell someone?”

Bobby just nodded.

“Can I… Can I ask who the someone is?”

“Liam.”

“Oh.” Sam nodded. “Well, he seems like a nice kid. I’m sure he wouldn’t think any differently of you.”

Bobby looked down. “I know.”

Sam looked over at him. “But it’s not just about that, is it?”

Bobby shook his head.

Sam nodded again. “Oh.”

Bobby nodded.

“Well, I may not know him very well, but I don’t see why he wouldn’t like you back.”

“He’s straight.”

“Are you sure?”

“He was dancing with Jada.”

“And you were dating Monyca.”

Bobby looked at Sam. He supposed he had a point there. Still, he felt like the chances were slim.

Sam looked away. “In any case, he’s not going to hate you for it. And I think it’s always worth it to take a chance and be honest about your feelings.”

The doorbell rang.

Bobby sat up, and his eyes went wide.

Sam looked at him and then at the door. “Is that him?”

Bobby nodded.

Sam stood up. “Well, I should probably go get those files. I think I’ll go out the back door.” He smiled at Bobby. “And don’t worry. I won’t tell your mom.” He winked. “Good luck.” He started to leave but then turned back. “And Bobby?”

Bobby looked at him. “Yeah?”

“I’m proud of you.”

Bobby sat there stunned for a second as Sam disappeared.

The doorbell rang again and startled him out of it. He got up and went to answer the door, pushing down his nerves as he did.

* * *

He didn’t come out to Liam. He was going to. He really was. He was so close. But then Liam told him he was going to be visiting his parents for a month. And it would be weird to tell him right before he left, right? Yeah, that would totally be weird.

So he decided he would tell him as soon as he got back. Which gave him four weeks to figure out how to tell him. Four weeks to overthink the whole thing. Four weeks to miss him more than he thought was possible. He hated that Liam was gone, but he was also dreading seeing him again. Because he’d made a deal with himself. As soon as Liam was back, the first time he got a chance, he would tell him. He didn’t know if he was excited or terrified. Mostly he was just sad. Summer was so boring without Liam. Every summer before he’d been without Liam, but he couldn’t remember what he did back then.

Of course, his mom noticed that something was wrong. Why was he even surprised?

She came into his room one day. “Come on, Robertico. Quit moping and come watch a movie with us. Like a family.”

“I’m not moping.”

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Oh really? So this is just regular, teenage ‘hiding out in your room for two weeks’ then?”

He shrugged and sat up.

She came in and sat down next to him. She put her hand on his knee. “Come on, talk to me, mijo. What’s wrong?”

He shrugged again.

“Is this because Liam’s gone?”

He looked down.

“It’s only a month. Danny and Ziggy were both gone for longer than that last summer, and you didn’t get like this then.”

He shrugged again. Liam was different from Danny and Ziggy. He couldn’t explain it. He just was.

She gave him a look, like she was trying to read his mind. “Bobby…”

He looked up at her and felt his eyes start to water. He didn’t remember making the decision, but he knew he wanted to tell her. “Mami…”

She reached out and put her hand on his cheek. “What is it, mijo?”

“I like Liam.”

She looked confused for a second. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I  _ like  _ him. Like, the way I’m supposed to like girls, the way I was supposed to like Monyca.”

Her eyes widened for a second before she pulled him into a hug. “Oh, Bobby, you aren’t  _ supposed _ to like anyone. You just like who you like, and that’s ok.”

He nodded as he felt tears start to fall. “I miss him so much, and I know it’s dumb because it’s only been two weeks, but…”

“Hey, it’s not dumb.” She pulled back and held onto his arms, smiling at him. “It’s your first real crush. You’re allowed to miss him.” She wiped his tears away with her thumb. “And I am so proud of you.”

He smiled at her and hugged her again. After longer than he would care to admit, he pulled back.

“Do you maybe want to come downstairs and watch a movie with us?”

He thought for a second before nodding. “Ok, as long as Elena didn’t pick the movie.”

He wiped his eyes, and the both stood up. He let her put her arm around him as they walked out of his room and down to the living room together. And if he fell asleep curled up between his mom and his sister while they watched some dumb comedy Sam picked out, a small smile on his face as he felt lighter than he had in a long time, well no one needed to know. And if Elena took a picture of him, he’d just have to make sure it never saw the light of day.

* * *

“So how was your trip?” Bobby asked, even though they’d been texting basically nonstop for the whole four weeks, so he already knew pretty much everything that had happened. The two of them were sitting on the edge of Liam’s grandma’s pool, just chilling with their feet in the water.

“It was good. Kind of weird, being back there. And you know, my family’s kind of a lot, especially compared to here, where it’s just me and my grandma. But it was nice to see everyone again. I missed everyone here though.”

Bobby looked at him. “Yeah?”

Liam shrugged. “Yeah.”

Bobby nodded. “Well, it was boring here without you.”

Liam smiled. “Yeah?” He asked, half-teasing.

“Yeah.” Bobby looked away. “We basically just played video games the whole time.”

“How is that different from what we’d do together?”

Bobby looked at him. “You weren’t there.”

Liam gave him this look he gave him sometimes, like he was trying to read him. From anyone else, it would make him uncomfortable. But from Liam…

Bobby looked away. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re back. I kind of wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?”

Bobby took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves and figure out how to start. All his overthinking and practicing over the last four weeks just flew out the window. He hoped Sam was right, and the words would just come to him now that he needed them. “Um, remember the dance a couple months ago?”

“Yeah.”

“You know how I said that I was just stressed about high school and tennis next year?”

“Yeah…”

“That wasn’t exactly true.”

“Oh.”

Bobby glanced at Liam, but his expression was unreadable, so he looked away again. “The real reason I got so upset is because… I was jealous.” There. He did it. He said the thing. Maybe not The Thing. But Liam would get what he meant, right?

“What, you like Jada?” Or maybe not.

Bobby shook his head. He looked at Liam, hoping he’d be able to just read his mind like he sometimes did, so Bobby wouldn’t have to actually say it.

“Bobby?”

“Liam…” He took a shaky breath. “I… I like you.”

Liam’s eyes widened. “Oh. Like…” 

Bobby nodded. “Yeah.” The word came out in an exhale.

Liam glanced down and then looked back up at him with a small smile, as he also exhaled. “Oh.” He reached out and took Bobby’s hand in his own. “Bobby, I like you, too.”

“Oh.” Bobby smiled, looking down at their interlaced fingers, not quite believing any of this was real.

Liam glanced around the pool. Bobby followed his gaze and was relieved to see that they were alone. “Bobby?” He looked back at Liam, and saw him looking right back at him. His eyes flickered down for a second before going back up to meet Bobby’s own.  _ Oh _ . “Can I kiss you?”

Bobby just nodded, and they both leaned forward. The kiss was short and a little awkward, but it was soft and sweet and perfect and a million times better than kissing Monyca had been.

When they separated, their faces stayed close together, and they just looked into each other’s eyes, both of them unable to stop smiling.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” Liam admitted.

“Yeah?”

Liam nodded.

“How long?”

“Since Jupiter at least.”

Bobby laughed and shook his head. “God, we’re idiots, aren’t we?”

Liam laughed, too. “Maybe just a bit.” He moved his free hand up to cup Bobby’s face. He leaned in to kiss Bobby again.

“Liam?”

At the sound of Liam’s grandma’s voice, they both jumped apart so fast, Bobby ended up falling the pool.

When Bobby recovered and managed to stand up in the pool, he saw Liam looking up at his grandma, giving her a nervous wave. “Hi, grandma.”

She raised her eyebrow and looked between the two boys. She crossed her arms. “Well, it’s about damn time.” She shook her head. “I just came out here to ask if Bobby was staying for dinner.”

Liam nodded. “Yeah, he is.” He turned to look at Bobby. “I mean, if you want to.”

Bobby nodded. “Yeah, totally.”

Liam’s grandma nodded. “Ok, well I guess I’ll let you two get back to… whatever you were doing.” She turned and walked away.

As soon as she was gone, Liam burst out laughing. He looked at Bobby. “I’m so sorry, but that was kind of hilarious.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” He grabbed Liam by the arm and pulled him into the pool.

Once he recovered, he stood in front of Bobby and glared at him. “I hate you.”

Bobby just smiled back. “No, you don’t.”

Liam’s face quickly melted into a smile. “Yeah, I don’t. Now where were we?”

Their second kiss was even better than their first.


End file.
